Originally from Oxford, England, Nikhil Basu Trivedi and his family moved to the Northern California Bay Area in 2002. He soon became fascinated with the entrepreneurial culture of nearby Silicon Valley. When it was time to choose a university, Basu Trivedi was deeply attracted to Princeton’s opportunities for undergraduates to work independently, yet in close concert with highly renowned faculty. The choice was easy.

After graduating, Basu Trivedi accepted an offer to work for Insight Venture Partners, a New York City venture capital firm where he had interned as an undergraduate. He also worked on a social venture called My Card My Story, which employed disabled artisans in India to produce handmade greeting cards. He founded it with three other Princeton students through a class they took called "Ventures to Address Global Challenges." 

Basu Trivedi majored in molecular biology and earned a certificate in finance. His studies focused him on career objectives. “I’m very interested in the concept of personalized medicine,” he says, “particularly in the areas of drug delivery and treatment of illness through genetic research, with a focus on the financial issues surrounding these discoveries.”

He emphasizes that as an undergraduate, he was challenged not only by his professors, but by his peers as well. "Both have had a big impact on my life," he says. "I feel we all have learned so much from one another.”

Basu Trivedi’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident in his extracurricular activities. He served as the co-president of Princeton’s highly regarded entrepreneurship club and was involved with the creation of a few start-up companies. He met one business partner when that student accidentally took his textbook when leaving class. “We eventually sorted that out, and in the process realized we were interested in the same things,” he says.

He spent his summers during his undergraduate years cultivating his interests. One summer he worked in the New York City venture capital firm, and during another he worked on a Web start-up that promoted artwork. “Basically, the site facilitated the discovery of artwork online," he says. "We launched the first version, and I was excited to see it grow.”

An Orange Key tour guide since his freshman year, Basu Trivedi relished educating visitors about Princeton. “I found it especially gratifying to give visitors a sense of what it's like to be a student here," he says. He also served as co-chair of Class Day, was technology chair at his eating club, was a peer adviser in Butler College and was a member of Princeton South Asian Theatrics. 

Basu Trivedi is looking forward to the next phase of being a Princetonian — as an alumnus and connecting with other Princeton alumni all around the world. “The Princeton alumni network is unique in its cohesiveness and reach," he says.